I’ve found a new way to wear my heart – and my faith – on my sleeve.
That realization hit right around the time I clicked “checkout” on Amazon. I just finished trying on three of the 14 T-shirts I ordered. You heard right: 14.
They have sayings like:
“He left the 99 to find me” – Matthew 18:12-14
“His life saved, saved, saved my life” – Romans 5:8
And “His love endures forever.”
See, a little while ago I got a notion that I wanted to share my Christianity in a new and different way. I decided I wanted to wear it.
Oh, I know that our Christianity is supposed to be shown by our lives, and I know that Hebrews 10:16 tells us, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds.”
So technically, T-shirts actually have nothing to do with it.
But it doesn’t hurt to wear one that alludes to your Christianity if you want to. And I have decided that I do.
I can’t pinpoint when the idea came to me, but it was around the time I read about the Camp Mystic counselor who had written her campers’ names on their arms right before the terrible flood hit. She had wanted there to be a way that her young charges could be identified – if need be.
I sent in my first order of shirts pretty soon after that.
You see, in addition to pondering about Camp Mystic, my brainwaves also traveled back to last fall, right after my new chorus, Southern A’Chord, was formed. At that time, I ordered 17 (I’m kind of ashamed to type out that number) T-shirts that sported a musical theme. Many have the dual musical clefs that are intertwined to form a heart, part of our chorus’ visual identity. Others merely say something like “Music is my happy place” and “It’s a good day to make music.”
I figured: If I’m promoting and celebrating my chorus and my love of music so much, why not do the same for my faith? I had already begun to add more Christian memes to my Facebook page to go along with my oodles of sunset photos.
Again, I’m not saying that this tactic is necessary; I’m not saying it’s for everyone. But it spoke to me.
So if you see me wandering around town, wearing my Christian T-shirts, I hope the shirts are somehow speaking to you and others. What’s more, I hope I’m exuding Christian vibes and living up to what my shirt is expressing.
And if you see someone standing in line in front of you at the grocery store with a navy blue T-shirt whose back is displaying a lot of writing, it might be me. The lettering says:
“Dear Person Behind Me, I hope you know Jesus loves you beyond measure. I pray he blesses you today. With love, The Person in Front of You … Love like Jesus – John 15:12.”
Or if you meet me in the aisle on another day, you might see these words on a gray shirt: “Not perfect – just forgiven.”
That’s enough to make me stop and shout “Hallelujah!”
Who knew encouragement can be cotton blend?
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Remember: Southern A’Chord’s premiere Ruston performance is set for 7 p.m. July 31 in the fellowship hall of the Presbyterian Church of Ruston, 212 N. Bonner. Admission is free, and we’d love to see you there.
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Sallie Rose Hollis lives in Ruston and retired from Louisiana Tech as an associate professor of journalism and the assistant director of the News Bureau. She can be contacted at sallierose@mail.com.
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